Little late in the game for this sort of thing, but better late than never.
Terry Grier
With Superintendent Terry Grier leaving in March, the HISD board faces a big decision in choosing his replacement.
Voters can help to determine who makes that decision, with four of nine trustee seats on the Nov. 3 ballot.
At least one trustee will be new, as Paula Harris is not seeking re-election. Yet some familiar faces – a former trustee, a past city councilwoman and three repeat candidates – are vying to help govern the nation’s seventh-largest school district.
Grier, by announcing in September that he would resign six months later, removed his future in the district as the top campaign issue. However, his rapid rollout of programs and high staff turnover loom on the trail with candidates calling for more stability in the Houston Independent School District.
HISD’s reliance on student test scores to award bonuses and to evaluate teachers also could be at risk. Several candidates said they oppose the statistical measure used in both, and the board’s decision last week to continue the $10 million bonus program was narrowly split – a 5-4 vote.
At a recent forum sponsored by the research and advocacy group Children at Risk, chief executive Bob Sanborn noted that HISD won the top prize for urban school districts under Grier and asked whether the candidates would rehire him if they could. None of the candidates in attendance said they would do so.
You can see the interviews I did with several of the candidates here. I asked all of them if they would vote to give Grier a new contract or not – all these interviews were done before Grier announced his intent to step down – and with the exception of Rhonda Skillern-Jones, who declined to discuss the matter, they all said No. If I’d have known that Grier was not coming back, I would have asked what qualities they were looking for in a new Superintendent. That’s the question, and the challenge, for the next Board.
Did you ever meet Terry Grier? I did and was appalled. This was the superintendent of one of the largest school districts in the country? Incompetent and full of himself at the same time.
Yes, I have met him. I’ve published two interviews with him:
http://offthekuff.com/wp/?p=27151
http://offthekuff.com/wp/?p=47923
I disagree with your characterization of him. I thought he was innovative and passionate, but not everything he tried worked and to be sure he rubbed some people the wrong way. “Incompetent” is not a word I would use to describe him.